How do I seek counselling??!
Question: I went to my doctors last Novemeber...I felt so low, couldn't sleep properly or eat and asked for referal to a counsiller who I could talk out some issues that I have from when I was a teenager. (terrible things that happened to me). My doctor told me they didnot do counselling on the NHS anymore and they couldnot refer me. What???? I walked away feeling stupid and dumbstruck. I'm 28 so not a silly little girl..but I'm struggling still and know I need some help before I become depressed...(which Im not sure if I am already to be honest.)
Answers: I went to my doctors last Novemeber...I felt so low, couldn't sleep properly or eat and asked for referal to a counsiller who I could talk out some issues that I have from when I was a teenager. (terrible things that happened to me). My doctor told me they didnot do counselling on the NHS anymore and they couldnot refer me. What???? I walked away feeling stupid and dumbstruck. I'm 28 so not a silly little girl..but I'm struggling still and know I need some help before I become depressed...(which Im not sure if I am already to be honest.)
You CAN get counselling on NHS in most places but there's a long waiting list. They SHOULD have been able to refer you to private one at the very least. It costs but if you find the right one it can b VERY helpful. At least I suppose they didn't prescribe prozac and tell you to go away but I don't think you've had a good deal here.I'd go back and try to get more help.
email if u want a chat
Are you in England? If so, they sure do counselling on NHS. I had mine on the NHS.
I think your doctor is no good, he is just trying to save NHS's money. Like someone said, seek another opinion.
I'd ask to talk to a different doctor and get a second opinion. They should give you more options than just "that's not available". Alteratively, talk to the Citizen's Advice Bureau to find out what help there is in your area.
is there another gp you could see? I think you can only really get NHS help via your GP. If not, your GP should be able to reccommend an organisation that do councelling.
It sounds like your GP just couldnt be bothered, try another one
they definitely do counselling on the NHS. Demand that you be referred to primary mental health. this is where you willl speak to someone about everything at your GP surgery (an outside psych) and they will refer you to appropriate services or counselling.
Don't be fobbed off. see a differnt doctor if necessary.
Good luck xx
hey there !
ugh..doctors.
what you should do is look around your area in the yellow pages for a Therapy and whatnot . its so good your getting help though and not ignoring it !
maybe try calling kids help phone ( i know your 28)
and see if the have any referals..
or even google :)
hope i helped a little
and feel better darlingg !
I can not believe ther is no councelling services in your area, go and see another doctor or get in touch with the local samaritans service
Try finding one on this site:
http://www.counselling.ltd.uk/index133.h...
See k a second opinion. LOW COST/FREE COUNSELLING: Contact your county/local mental health agency, and find out what help they can offer. Psychological counselling, with a sliding scale, based on income, is available through many religious organisations, such as Catholic counselling, the Methodist church, and the Unitarian Universalists. You don't have to be a member. My standard post follows: There is a quiz about depression, through sections 1, and 2, at ezy build, below: print the result, and take along to your primary mental health care provider. With depression, there is a choice of possible treatment types which needs to be made, and you can decide to use either allopathy, (modern Western medicine) with its reliance on antidepressants and therapy, or alternative treatments, which I advise trying first. This is because antidepressants are known to increase the rates of suicide, homicide, and aberrent behavio(u)r, particularly with young people, and often have unwanted side effects, such as sexual dysfunction, and/or weight gain.
Tests have shown that apart from clinical (major) depression, their results were not significantly superior to those taking a placebo (inert, or "sugar pill"). Antidepressants retain a degree of long term effectiveness for only around 30% of people. There is a saying in the mental health field: "If the only tool you have in your kit is a hammer, you tend to treat everything as a nail". So it goes with doctors, and their prescription pads: handy, quick, and convenient, when trying to manage their large list of patients, and often allocating only 10 minutes to each.
Most of them are only trained to provide antidepressants and referrals for therapy, with those whose depression is resistant to those treatments being advised to have ElectroConvulsive Therapy, (ECT) with its risk of permanent, partial memory loss. Therapy, while often effective at first, becomes "same old, same old" after a while, for many people.
I now advise people to: (1.) Take 4 Omega 3 fish oil supplements, daily, (certified free of mercury) with an antioxidant, such as an orange, or grapefruit, or their freshly squeezed juice. If vitamin E is used, it should be certified as being 100% from natural sources, or it's synthetic, avoid it. (2.) Work up slowly to 30 - 60 minutes of exercise, daily. (3.) Occupational therapy (keeping busy allows little time for unproductive introspection, and keeps mental activity out of less desirable areas of the brain). (4.) Use daily, one of the relaxation methods in sections 2, 2.c, 2.i, or 11, and/or yoga, Tai Chi, and/or the EFT, in sections 2.q, 2.o, and section 53, at http://www.ezy-build.net.nz/~shaneris whichever works best for you. (5.) Initially, at least, some form of counselling, preferably either Cognitive Behavio(u)ral Therapy, or Rational Emotive Behavio(u)ral Therapy. (6.) As options, if desired, either a known, effective herbal remedy, such as St. John's wort, or a supplement, such as SAMe, or Inositol (from vitamin and health food stores, some supermarkets, or mail order: view section 55).
If the amount of daylight you have been exposed to recently has reduced, perhaps due to the change of seasons, see Seasonal Affective Disorder (S.A.D.) in section 2, at http://www.ezy-build.net.nz/~shaneris and, instead of taking around 4 Omega 3 fish oil supplements, daily; replace 2 of them with cod liver oil supplements for the winter months only! (or, as probably a better alternative to the 2 cod liver oil supplements: 1 teaspoonful of cod liver oil, with a little butter, to ensure its use; I take mine on sourdough rye bread, or toast, covered with fishpaste, and pepper, to mask the strong taste). Optimal levels are 50 - 55 ng/ml (115 - 125 nmol / L). It should be above 32 ng/ml.
Don't use medications and supplements together, without medical advice, except for Omega 3, which is safe, anytime. Omega 3 fish oil supplements: EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid (omega 3) ----360 mg.DHA (docosahexaenoic acid (omega 3)-----240 mg
Take enough supplements to attain, or exceed the levels (no possibility of overdose) of those every day, with an orange, or the juice of a freshly squeezed orange, grapefruit, or other antioxidant.
(make sure the epa is higher then the dha) important for adults... kids need the opposite levels: more dha than epa, but all are beneficial, if you can't achieve the recommended proportions.
They should be certified as being free of mercury, and if containing vitamin E, it should be shown as from a natural source; otherwise it is synthetic: avoid it! Consider having your doctor test your vitamin D levels, (60% of depressed people have low vitamin D levels!) using the 25 Hydroxyvitamin D test. Those people who receive adequate exposure to sunlight, daily, won't need the vitamin D from cod liver oil, but many people, particularly those in latitudes far from the equator, find this difficult to achieve.
If the above is insufficient for you, after several months, (unlikely) try one of the alternatives, such as the neurofeedback, magnetic, or low current electrical stimulation, or EMDR therapy, (see sections 33 - 34) keeping ECT back, as a last resort.
~~~ You can't shut your mind off. Instead, put your mind in a position where it wants to shut itself off. See insomnia treatments, in section 3, at ezy build, below. Use one of the relaxation methods, in bed, after lights out, on pages 2, 11, 2.c, or 2.i, but they can take some time to learn, (progressive muscular relaxation excepted) so learn and become proficient in their use during the day; an alternative is to use the EFT, in section 53, and pages 2.q, and 2.o, saying to yourself: "Even though I currently have a sleep disorder, I deeply and completely accept myself." (or choose your own wording) while you use the acupressure tapping.
Find out which works best for you, in the daylight hours, so you will be prepared, come bedtime. For many people, a good idea is to develop a set "wind down" routine for the last hour before bedtime, so your subconscious mind learns that it is time to put thinking aside, and prepare for mindfulness, (awareness, without cogitation/purposeful thought) or the EFT, in preparation for sleep, but the idea with mindfulness is to not even think about sleeping: just drift off, naturally, during exercising those techniques.
your doctor is a twerp. i have been suffering from depression for 8 years. and yesterday Had my very first counselling session. and it was brilliant. i feel am over the moon. it was by a professional psychologist. i paid seventy pounds for one hour session and it was worth every penny am having a few more. so look up yellow pages. and find one in your area. make sure there professional. good luck.
Sit in the park dressed as a sachet of vinegar. Call everybody 'Bob' and count to 10 every minute. People with an ambulance will be around in minutes.
ask them to refer your to your local community mental health team (cmht) they help with a whole range of problems
I had the same problem so I changed my Dr. Look for a Dr's that does counselling.